Key Facts
full title · Steppenwolf, or Der Steppenwolf (The
Steppenwolf)
author · Hermann Hesse
type of work · Novel
genre · Bildungsroman; psychoanalytical adventure
language · German
time and place written · Mid-1920s, Switzerland
date of first publication · 1927
publisher · S. Fischer
narrator · The novel has multiple narrators: Harry Haller, the
protagonist, who has left behind his records; the nephew of Harry's
landlady, who composes the preface; and the anonymous, all-knowing author
of a booklet called “Treatise on the Steppenwolf.”
point of view · The point of view is first person for the vast majority
of the novel, though limited third person in the preface by Harry's
landlady's nephew, and an all-knowing, omniscient second and third person
in the Treatise. All of these points of view take Harry as their
focus, and each works in tandem with the others, corroborating and
also extending the information given in the other sections.
tone · The novel's tone varies from direly serious to ironically humorous,
at times verging on surreal and eventually hallucinatory.
tense · Past
setting (time) · Between the two world wars
setting (place) · An unspecified, medium-sized town in a German-speaking country
protagonist · Harry Haller, also known as the Steppenwolf
major conflict · Harry feels divided between two conflicting halves—a
man-half who prizes and desires the comforts offered by a respectable
life with others, and a wild and cruel wolf-half who scorns such
petty concerns. Alienated and despairing, on the verge of suicide
at the novel's opening, Harry seeks to resolve the disturbance within him
and pick up the task of life again.
rising action · Harry receives the “Treatise on the Steppenwolf,”
meets Hermine, has a liaison with Maria, and attends the Fancy Dress Ball.
climax · During the journey in Pablo's Magic Theater, Harry
faces different aspects of himself and kills Hermine, symbolizing
his assimilation of his characteristics into his own self-identity.
falling action · Harry converses with Mozart.
themes · Multiple identities; the existence of a world beyond
time; the complex nature of laughter
motifs · Music; dancing; representation
symbols · Mirrors; the radio; the araucaria plant
foreshadowing · The nephew's preface; Hermine's description of her
future command
